Amazon Conservation Work

Document the Amazon ecosystem

Work alongside scientific researchers to document the Amazon ecosystem to study local wildlife including endangered Blue-headed macaw, jaguars and monkeys

Help scientists collect data on local flora and fauna with the aim to monitor, preserve and enhance the biodiversity of the rainforest. Join a team helping to conserve the endangered rainforest through research and community schemes.

Typical day:

Volunteers will support conservation research and sustainable development projects. You will be involved in a range of tasks which may include:

Documenting rare Blue-headed macaws by the river bank

Capturing footage of mammals, which may include jaguars, tapirs or peccary

You may work throughout the day with a mix of early mornings and late evenings depending on what research surveys and conservation projects you are assisting. For example you may wake up at dawn to record parrots at the river clay lick or head out into the jungle at dusk with a head torch to record local amphibians and reptiles.

During your placement you will be given presentations and training on jungle ecology and current research projects to prepare you for the volunteer role. Once you have completed your initial training volunteers normally work 6 days per week.

There are normally 6-12 volunteers and around 9 full time local staff and scientists.

How will I make a difference?

The research team has identified that deforested land in the region is recovering and increasing in biodiversity quicker than they initially imagined and each year the team have been adding new sightings to the areas species list. This research is vital for influencing government policy on the benefits gained from allowing the forest to re-grow and the project helps to highlight the need for protecting areas which may have been logged, farmed or deforested.

The volunteer team have helped turn 17 hectares of abandoned land into agroforestry plots leading to an increase in biodiversity, planted over 13,000 trees, and created the first programme in Peru to ever commercialize carbon credits on behalf of a local community.

The project has worked with local families turning abandoned deforested areas into over 50 family biogardens, and has helped build institutional biogardens. This has resulted in an annual increase in income of over 30% for the local community who have worked to build their biogardens as well as an increase in child nutrition and health.

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